


A Vision of Chloranelm

by sincerelymendacious



Category: Psychonauts (Video Games)
Genre: Art, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Supportive friend, bobby's crush, bobby's secret skill, gift-giving, more friendship than romance, positive interaction, sci-fi art
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29971845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincerelymendacious/pseuds/sincerelymendacious
Summary: Chloe receives an unexpected gift from an even more unexpected gift-giver.
Relationships: Chloe Barge/Bobby Zilch
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	A Vision of Chloranelm

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a discussion at the Psychowhatsits discord server. Discussion arose about Bobby having artistic talent. Mostly it was about him getting commissioned to make metal album covers, but I thought about Chloe seeing his work and getting excited and decided to write this.
> 
> Special thanks to Rocket (Pinky G Rocket on ao3) for editing and revisions!

It was long after the lights went out when the specimen known as Bobby walked up. 

“Here,” he said, thrusting his arm down at Chloe.

Chloe blinked, surprised by Bobby’s sudden intrusion into her star-gazing. “Ah, greetings, Bobby,” she said, glancing at the fist he extended towards her. Crumpled between his dirty, nail-bitten fingers was a sheet of paper. There was a drawing on it, a very colorful one at that. The surrounding darkness made determining detail impossible. “Is this piece of traditional Earth art for me?” 

“Duh,” Bobby said as he rolled his mismatched eyes. 

It was an ill-mannered response by Earth standards. Chloe would not have hesitated to point that out had she been speaking to any other camper. However, she thought that this Bobby specimen was an alien, much like herself. One that wasn’t adapting well to Earth culture at all. She allowed his rudeness to slide. “I was merely confirming what I had already suspected,” she explained. “I had not expected to be sought out and given a gift so late at night. Hence my surprise.” 

Bobby grunted in reply. Chloe was not yet experienced enough with males of any species to decipher the emotion the sound was meant to convey. “Please use words while interacting with me,” she said, “or I will not be able to understand your needs.” 

“Would you just take the stupid paper?” His voice, already high in pitch, was even more shrill than normal.

“Right. Yes.” Chloe accepted the paper with the gentleness she reserved for her maternal unit’s pressed flowers. Her other hand dug into her pocket to retrieve a small flashlight. She pressed her thumb on the button to turn the light on, then gasped at what the light revealed. 

Before her was a verdant plain, the backdrop a blue-green sky. Flying above the grass were three pink, tentacled creatures, their bell-shaped bodies floating west across the field. In the foreground, a dark grey quadruped with a large fringe around its neck. It tore into a crab-like animal, its large clawed foot holding its prey in place. Electric blue goop covered the snarling beast’s tusks and chin. Pieces of the crab’s exoskeleton lay shattered on the grass, alongside its purple-pink entrails. 

“Quasars,” Chloe whispered, shining her little light all over the paper. The scene was ugly, brutal, and beautiful all at once. “Is this supposed to depict the planet Chloranelm’s natural environment?” 

Bobby shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest. “I guess,” he said, addressing his feet more than her. “I heard you talking about it-” He swallowed, his cheeks becoming redder than his hair. “And I was like, you know, that sounds sick as hell.” He set a hand on his hip and began tapping his foot in a nervous tattoo. “So...you like it or what?” 

“Bobby, this is fantastic.” Chloe’s eyes devoured every little detail that she could. She spotted something new every time she passed her light over the page. The golden glow of a moon in the upper left corner. A herd of crabs similar to the fallen one fleeing north. A long, serpentine creature with a mantis-like head in the distance, slithering toward the oblivious predator. “The level of accuracy here is astonishing,” Chloe said, in awe of the artistic skill on display. “Not to mention the aesthetic beauty of the work.” 

Bobby’s face screwed up in confusion. “So you think it's good?” 

“I think that it is great.” Chloe smiled up at him. “I’ve never been to Chloranelm myself. All I know is what I learned on my home planet’s educational facilities.” She brought her eyes back down to the picture, excitement shooting through her. “This is exactly how I envisioned it. I could never replicate such a scene- my talent lies in creating blueprints.” She bounced on the balls of her feet, her grin growing even wider. “You have even colored the sky the correct shade of green.” 

“Yeah,” Bobby said, his tone so quiet that she could barely hear him. “It wasn’t hard. I just mixed the blue and green crayons together.” 

“Do you know why the sky is green on Chloranelm?” Chloe asked. Bobby shook his head. “Chloranelm’s sky is filled with trillions of microscopic creatures. They live in the temperate atmosphere and feed on sunlight.” She pointed to the floating jellyfish. “These Chlorlosi consume the microscopic creatures. They eat enough to penetrate the colonies, which allows sunlight to come through.” Her finger followed the long line of a tentacle. “If a land-based animal attempts to harm them, the Chlorlosi can electrocute them with enough strength to make their attacker’s body explode.” 

“That’s badass,” Bobby said. 

“Yes. Nature can be quite brutal,” Chloe said. She felt like she was light enough to start levitating. Never before had she ever received a gift like this from a peer. Most of the juveniles in her town disdained her passion for science and studying. “Bobby, may I keep this?” she asked, her voice threatening to burst with emotion. She swallowed it down and continued with a more professional tone. “Speculative art such as this is very valuable to my research. I would appreciate being able to study this at my convenience.” 

“Y-yeah!” Bobby began to sputter, his words coming out in a mad rush. “Sure, you can keep it. I ain’t planning on doing nothing with it. Just, you know, don’t let anyone know that I made it or anything and we’re cool.” 

Chloe tilted her head to the side. “Why shouldn’t I tell anyone you made it? It’s a well-done piece of art and you deserve the credit for it.” 

Bobby swiped a hand through his hair. “Just don’t,” he said, tugging his fingers free from an orange tangle. “I wanna keep this between you and me.” 

“Hm. I do not understand why you are making such a request, but I will respect your wishes.” She put her flashlight back in her pocket and tucked the drawing into the graph paper pad that served as her research journal. “Look up there,” she said, pointing up at the sky. 

Bobby did as requested. “What, is that the planet Chlor...Chloranelm?” 

“No. That is the direction of Cygnus A, the galaxy that Chloranelm is located in.” Ah, if only she had her telescope! She had been forced to leave it at home, due to space constraints. “Chloranelm is the most beautiful planet in my solar system, even outdoing my own home planet. But it’s also the most deadly.” An idea struck her. “Bobby. I have an offer for you.” 

Bobby looked back down at her. “It’s five arrowheads a week to join my protection service.” He thought for a moment, then added, “but I’ll knock off an arrowhead for you. Cuz, uh, it was really funny when you put Kitty in her place that one time.” 

“That is generous of you, but not what I meant.” Chloe tapped on the front of her research journal. “I would like for you to create more art like this. I have no photos or records of my home planet. This was to ensure that none of the inhabitants here discovered where in the galaxy I was from.” She dug through her pockets and came up with a single arrowhead. “This is the extent of my funds at the moment. I am willing to obtain more, however, as I believe that your art is worth at least three arrowheads per picture.” 

“Gee, Chloe.” Bobby rubbed the back of his neck, the scratch of nails on dry skin an uncomfortable one. “That’s, uh…” He struggled for words for so long that Chloe feared that she would never receive an answer. “Nobody’s ever asked me to like...draw for them before. I usually get in trouble for doing that sort of stuff.” 

Was that why he didn’t want anyone to know about his artistic skill? “I can assure you that you will not be penalized for any of the drawings I ask you to make. If you like, nobody will ever know that we have an arrangement.” 

“Oh, uh...okay. Fine.” He nodded, baring his teeth in a smile. It wasn’t pleasant to look at, but there was something endearing in it anyway. “I’ll draw whatever you tell me to. For only one arrowhead per drawing.” 

But he denied the arrowhead when Chloe held it out to him. “That first one’s on the house. But the rest are gonna cost you!” 

Chloe nodded. “Very well. I will have your pay as promised, so long as the work you produce matches the quality of the first piece.” She glanced down at the plastic wristwatch her paternal unit had given her for her birthday. “Hm, it’s getting to be quite late. I must return to my bunk to compile my findings for the day.” 

Bobby’s face fell in disappointment. “Oh. Alright. Whatever, I’ll just hang out here.” 

“We should meet here again, tomorrow night,” Chloe suggested. “It would be an optimal time to discuss your next drawing since you insist on keeping your artistic abilities a secret. Is that acceptable to you?” 

Bobby shrugged. “Whatever.” But Chloe didn’t miss the gleam of excitement in his eyes. 


End file.
